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The Big Bang: Shannon’s Fault

Yes, it’s my fault. I’m the reason we’re now going to be living a nomadic lifestyle in a 300 sq. ft. home-on-wheels.

Over the years Brian has inspired his share of adventures—like the pre-dawn hot air balloon ride in the Napa Valley. I was scared and ended up loving it. He was psyched but ended up being bored, despite a near-crash with another balloon that took our landing spot and an extra hour in the air as the chase vehicle raced below us trying to find a place for the pilot to set us down.

Then there was our week-long excursion down the Colorado River, camping out each night and navigating some of the biggest whitewater in North America. Of the 28 people in our group, we were the only ones who had never been camping or rafting. I was more terrified of this “vacation” than I was of the hot air balloon ride. This time, we both loved it. It was quite possibly our best trip ever.

So there I was, perusing a message board on a freelance website last week. I read a member’s post about how she, her husband, and their young daughter are sailing around the world. I clicked over to her blog and saw a picture of her cat on the boat. And I had a true “light bulb moment.” (It was like a cartoon, and I could actually see the light bulb going on above my head.)

For years, Brian and I had talked about doing extended traveling, gallivanting around the world, but it had never occurred to me that we could take our cats with us. It was always a sticking point in our plans.

Sailing is well beyond our skill set, but what about…an RV? I brought it up to Brian that afternoon (he claims to have mentioned RVing a long time ago and that I dismissed the idea…hmmm), and by the time we polished off dinner and a bottle of wine it was decided. We’re hitting the road, with the felines coming along for the ride.

Having been negligent in the adventure-inspiring, it was time for me to up the ante.

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4 Comments on “The Big Bang: Shannon’s Fault”

Just came across your blog today. Love it! We are also fulltime RVers – isn’t it the greatest?! I’m commenting on this entry because it sounds so similar to how we started out. Safe travels to you and I look forward to following along on your journey.

Just stumbled across your blog today. I’ve always wanted to travel more but felt bad leaving my cat behind. Never thought about bringing her with! Very much looking forward to reading more of your posts. And would love to know how you keep your cats content in the RV!

Animals are all unique individuals and, just like people, some will be better travelers than others. Ours were indoor cats and so while the RV is somewhat smaller than what they were used to, it wasn’t too much more of a change for them than if we had simply moved apartments. After a short period of adjustment, the RV became their home. They never liked travel day (or “the rumbly house” as I called it) but we tried to accommodate them by keeping our drive times fairly short and giving them plenty of relaxing quite time between moves.

We’ve seen other RV’ers who let their cats outside – some on harness others to roam free. Where there is a will, there is a way.